Daddy Love: Father’s Day Gift Guide 2012

Lest you've forgotten, he took you to your first ball game (before he realized that he'd also be driving you to dance class).

The man was nothing if not patient with your whims and desires, videotaping your tap dancing and baton performances, as well as your one season in cross-country.

He put food on the table and shelter over your head. And when he walked in on you and your first boyfriend late at night, he kept his calm and did nothing but tell you to keep your voices down.

If your father wasn't completely a saint, he did the best he could do. On this hetero-dominant planet, there's never been a definitive guidebook for raising gay children. And now that we're getting married, you want your father in the front row (unless he's walking you down the aisle).

This Father's Day, treat your daddy right and give him the respect he afforded you.

Aveda: Men Pure-formance™ Aroma Spray

Hard to imagine, but some men seem to have an aversion to fragrance - unless it’s gasoline or beef.

If your father is one of those males perfectly content to slap on some Old Spice or Brut once or twice a year, then it’s time you helped him evolve his fragrance nose into the 21st century.

A spicy, woody fragrance redolent of masculinity, Aveda Men Pure-formance Aroma Spray might well have been the scent emanating from Paul Bunyan. Imagine a log cabin in a timberland forest, surrounded by pine trees. Hudson Bay blankets on the single bed and LL Bean gumshoes at the front door. If such elements evoke your father’s fantasy life, then this outdoorsy elixir has his name on it.

Potent and strong, Aveda Men Pure-formance Aroma Spray is as virile as a woodcutter who grows and grills his own food. Vetiver hangs in the air, undercut with a whiff of lavender. Formulated with certified organic essential oils of spearmint and citrus, this is the Appalachian Trail of fragrance.

Perfect for the father who lives for outdoor adventure - and an audience of women he can charm with his tall tales.

Musewear: Wit Flips

If your sassy wit derived from your father’s odd sense of humor, then you might think about repaying him - with a pair of Musewear Wit Flops. Every bit as clever as you (and your father) are, Wit Flops are imbedded with savvy epigrams on the flip flop footbed to remind your father to make every step count.

Founded by husband and wife, Michael Franco and Diane Curry, Musewear believes in making their feet do the talking - as well as the walking. For those who spend their days wearing flip flops (also known as thongs, Zoris, slippers, and sandals), Musewear provides a secret philosophy or a mini-mantra underfoot all day long - to serve as inspiration or as a reminder for gratitude.

We’re keen on the Oscar Wilde Wit Flips, printed with Oscar’s admonition to "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." If your father is partial to jazz, he might enjoy a pair Ella Wit Flips, imprinted with Ella’s wisdom, "It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you are going that counts." Each Wit Flop is created in a first edition of only 500, making your Wit Flop a true collectible.

Manufactured in safe factories in Fortaleza, Brazil, Musewear Flip Flops are made of 100% Brazilian rubber, which is 100% recyclable (and retractable). Furthermore, Musewear gives not-yet-famous artists an opportunity to showcase their talents - and with each Musewear purchase, the company makes a 15% charitable donation.

Musewear also makes Walk the Talk flip flops (with wisdom from Bob Marley, C.S. Lewis, Mahatma Gandhi, and Buddha), as well as SunSign Soles, decorated with astrological mantras - all designed to "Wear Your Self Out."

This Father’s Day, walk with your dad in his new Wit Flips - and be sure to laugh at his jokes.

Patrón: XO Cafe Dark Cocoa

Remember the year that your father took the whole family to Mexico - and walked into the sliding glass door on his way to the pool? Wasn’t that about the funniest thing you’d ever seen in your young life?

This Father’s Day, bring back some of those joyful vacation memories with a bottle of Patrón XO Cafe Dark Cocoa. A potent and delicious tequila and coffee liqueur, Patrón XO Cafe Dark Cocoa combines Patrón Silver tequila with criollo chocolate from Mexico’s Tabasco region and coffee from Chiapas and Veracruz.

What you taste when you sip this rich elixir on the rocks is almost chocolate tequila, with the aroma of fresh-roasted coffee. The finish is dry and smooth, leaving a hint of chocolate on the palate. Now really, what’s not to love about mocha tequila, right?

Produced and bottled at the Hacienda del Patrón in the Mexican highlands of Jalisco, Patrón XO Cafe Dark Cocoa is packaged in a stunning frosted glass bottle, complete with red ribbon and cork. Nearly ebony in color, Patrón XO Cafe Dark Cocoa is distilled at 60 proof, making it perfect with just about anything that goes with chocolate, coffee, or tequila. Drizzle it over ice cream; marry it with seltzer and make a tequila chocolate egg cream.

Or why not take a bottle out to the pool with your father as you query him about the best years of his life.

Beehive Cheese Co.: Barely Buzzed

Some fathers like to mix it up in the kitchen: sardines on crackers, peanut butter on celery, pickles and bananas on sourdough bread.

As complex and innovative as your father’s culinary creations, Barely Buzzed is a full-bodied cheese encased in a mouth-watering rind of crushed lavender and coffee. Hand-rubbed with French lavender buds that are mixed with a blend of roasted coffee beans from South and Central America and Indonesia, this exotic creamy cheese is redolent of butterscotch and caramel, particularly near the rind.

Opened in 2005 by two family members who left careers in software and real estate for the less stressful life of artisanal cheesemaking, Beehive Cheese Company is located in a valley near the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. All Beehive cheeses are hand-crafted with local ingredients.

Regularly featured at Murray’s Cheese in New York, as well as numerous other gourmet shops throughout the States, Barely Buzzed has been a perennial favorite since its debut.

And if your father values accolades, let him know that Barely Buzzed has been the first place winner for four of the last five years at the American Cheese Society’s Annual Competition.

Beehive’s cheeses carry delicious undertones of Utah’s unique high-desert and four-season ecosystem - and are available in flavors such as Big John’s Cajun (which packs a spicy punch) and Apple Walnut Smoked, among others.

Hugo Boss: Bottled Night

Confident and classy, with a sartorial flair, your father makes an entrance into a room. There’s something of the Roger Sterling in him, with his signet ring and his Brooks Brothers sack suits. He still likes a dry martini - shaken not stirred. And at the country club dances, he glides your mother across the floor. Basically, your father’s a gentleman - even with his roving eye and his taste for the pleasures of the night.

With top notes of birch leaves and lavender, Hugo Boss Bottled Night evokes a high-end barber shop, not unlike those on Jermyn Street in London. The lavender lingers, melding into the violet heart note, giving the impression of a warm heart beneath a dashing exterior.

Your father’s a pussycat beneath his polished veneer. He cares about his appearance and he always smells freshly-showered, which is why Hugo Boss Bottled Night will suit him perfectly. The musky, woody notes of sandalwood and louro amarelo hover on the skin. Packaged in a bottle as indigo as a New York night, Hugh Boss Bottled Night is as stylish as your father when he’s out on the town.

Remember how your father hugged you before you slept, his smoky, wood scent fragrancing your dreams with a violet tint?

Skin&Co. Roma: Hydro-Truffle Face Serum & Restructuring Eye Gel

Your daddy worked so hard to give you everything you desired. Remember how your mother heard him whispering into your ear when you were a baby, "Oh, you’re going to cost me, but you’re going to be worth every cent."

It’s been a long strange trip - and sometimes you can see it in your father’s eyes. The bags beneath them - have you ever considered how you might be responsible? How about being considerate for Father’s Day and giving your daddy something to make him look like Gary Cooper all over again?

Skin&Co. has been in the business of beauty for more than a hundred years. Now owned and managed by the third generation of the founding family, Skin&Co utilizes the bounty of Mediterranean produce - specifically black truffles - to produce exemplary skincare products

Black truffle is also an integral ingredient in Skin&Co. Hydro-Truffle Face Serum, which helps to prevent the signs of aging by providing deep hydration. Olive oil and vitamin B5 increase cellular regeneration, while reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

(We know people who swear by these products - and they don’t look old enough to be anybody’s daddy...)

Sold as a set of two, this all-in-one system for daily eye and facial care joins botanical knowledge with scientific technology - and the winner is your face. Or rather, your father’s.

Of course, he’ll probably share; after all, when did he ever deny you anything?

A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.

One of our first fragrance memories is the smell of lilacs in the spring. All of us recall moments when the beauty of fragrance has caused us to pay closer attention. This summer, let fragrance waft into the recesses of your memory.

The simple fact is that summer skincare is so easy. Longer days mean we’re outdoors more, which means we drink more water, hydrating the skin. This summer, take care of your skin and nourish it with good food, good sex - and good product.